Citizen released to a new watch which they call Photon to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Edo-Drive. We received a loaner for one of the two models released – the BJ6560-53W for about 3 weeks use as a daily driver. Here is our review.
Review: Citizen celebrates Eco-Drive’s 50th Anniversary with the new Photon
TheCitizen Eco-Drive’s 50th Anniversary Photon has the following retail:
- Silver titanium Ref. BJ6560-53W: SGD 1406.10 / USD 995 (Review sample)
- Black/gold titanium Ref. BJ6569-59X: SGD 1689.50 / USD 1,195
The SGD prices include GST. Availability is (Northern) Autumn/Winter of 2026. Limited edition of 5000 pieces each reference.
The design and historical perspective
This latest light powered watch is presented with the very name Photon. After all, in the final analysis, this is what light comes down to. A photon, the most elemental particle to carry the energy of light. One can invoke the wave-particle duality to argue, but Schrödinger showed that it is basically a particle behaving like a wave spread out in space (probabilistic wave function).
And is, of course, released to celebrate Citizen’s venture into light powered watches. Way before any other manufacturer, they have started to harness light as a power source. Their adventure began in 1976 with the Crystron solar cell. The world’s first analogue light powered watch. The layout is simple, but effective. Eight solar cells are laid squarely in the middle of the dial. The design of the Crystron was typical of the mid-1970s. And still remains attractive today.
The case and bracelet
In the Photon, the case and bracelet are completely integrated. Both are crafted in another Citizen technology – Super Titanium Duratect. We have covered this class leading material last year, as Citizen celebrated 50 years of titanium.
The case shape of the Photon is interesting. The base shape is an octagon. But with the sides smoothened out into curves. Gently and very aesthetically pleasing smoothened. The bezel as well as the case itself carries this shape.
The bracelet is also in Duratect titanium carbide Super Titanium. The design of the links curve in all dimensions and the construction comprise of H shaped brushed links held together with polished center links. This gives the bracelet some form of dimension as the different textures of the surface finishings play with each other to give a nice contrast. The bracelet has a natural curvature, which is somewhat flexible.
Some critics have mentioned that the case and bracelet has a reminiscence of the Moser Streamliner. While I do not disagree completely, I can also see that this is derived from completely different starting positions, and the Citizen design team have assured us that the similarities are purely incidental.
The dial
The concept of this novelty is derived from a 50 year evolution of making light powered watch movements. The inspiration for the dial design is a based on the Double Split Experiment, a experiment to demonstrate the duality of light as both a particle and wave. The theoretical basis was put forth by the combination of the Principle of Complementarity proposed by Neils Bohr and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. The dial is created using two sets of dial elements arranged on top of each other. Of course, the dial construction is not able to be setup to demonstrate the Double Split Experiment, it is just inspired by the concept.
The lower dial has slits in concentric circles, while the upper dial shows up as sets of concentric curved triangles, with their apex pointing to the center. Below this dual slitted dial, is a colour film over the light sensitive panels. This combination gives the impression of the interference fringe. As the metal slits have some depth, it gives a peek into the coloured film below. Kind of a play of peek-a-boo. Further, in some angles, though the base colour is blue, the film can appear in a variance of colours. I find this play to be particularly attractive.
In the Eco-Drive systems, there are numerous ways to get the light onto the light sensitive panels. Citizen is the world’s foremost leader in this technology, and they have several types to choose from. For the Photon, they have selected to design a new movement with a basic three hand function. The light cell is set under the dial to absorb light to generate power. The evolution of the Citizen technology from 1976 now means that only part of the dial needs to be opened to allow sufficient light to reach the cells. Here we see the arrangement of the two dials, both in metal over the light cell. A colour film sits below the two slitted dials, and the light cell, but it does not reduce the light transmittance. The colour film is also designed so that it does not fade due to radiation from light entering the dial.
The hands are large and thick javelin like shaped, with a long slender center seconds hand in yellow. The hands are coated with SuperLuminova and have a nice green glow in the dark.
The movement
The movement is the caliber E036, and is the latest generation of Eco-Drive. This new movement achieves ±15 seconds per month, which is not particularly impressive as Citizen watches go, but is still pretty good performance. Especially considering that the autonomy on a full charge is approximately 365 days in complete darkness. The caliber E036 is result of a complete overhaul of the circuit system to achieve this running time and also to accommodate the heavier hands.
The movement is sealed within the case, and the case back of the Photon is closed. It carries the engraving of the 50th Anniversary logo, and the limited edition number. The movement does carry a battery, but the specifications for the battery is not known.
Concluding thoughts
The bracelet is beautifully crafted and has a natural curvature of its own. For my flat 180mm wrists, it fits wonderfully, hugging the wrist. The watch also feels particularly light, though I forget to weigh it. The full links can accommodate a much larger wrist. However, for smaller wrists, the pliability of the links might be an issue. The curvature of the bracelet is not flexible enough to curve around small wrists. If you have a smaller wrist, do go and check the watch out first before purchase.
At price point of under USD 1k, the Photon is an excellent value proposition. This is a do anything, go anywhere tool watch in its most basic form. It feels light, looks beautiful. And the Super Titanium case and bracelet is super tough.
The watch is also available with a bi-colour Duratect DLLC with Duratect amber yellow combination. The dial also echoes gold theme with interplay of gold and blue. This model is slightly more expensive, but still sits at a relatively good price point.
Citizen Eco-Drive’s 50th Anniversary Photon Specifications
| Brand | CITIZEN Eco-Drive PHOTON | |
| Model | BJ6560-53W | BJ6569-59X |
| Launch | Autumn /Winter 2026 | |
| Limited quantity | 5,000 pieces worldwide each | |
| Price (projected) | SGD 1,406.10 include 9% GST | SGD 1,689.50 include 9% GST |
| Case / Band | Super Titanium™（Duratect titanium carbide※4） | Super Titanium™（ Duratect DLC※5・ Duratect amber yellow※6） |
| Glass | Dual spherical sapphire glass with anti-reflective coating※7 | |
| Case diameter / thickness | 39.6mm /9.9 mm（design specification only） | |
| Specifications | Cal.E036 /Accuracy of ±15 seconds per month/ Eco-Drive runs for one year on full charge ■W.R. 5 BAR ■Luminous (Hands+indices) ■ Recycled materials used for selected dial components ■ Limited Edition box | |
